India Trade April 2017

India: Trade deficit widens in April

May 19, 2017

Recently released data related to India’s external sector showed that the trade deficit totaled USD 13.2 billion in April, which was a greater shortfall than the USD 4.8 billion gap recorded in April 2016 (March 2016: USD 10.4 billion deficit).

The deterioration in trade data came on the back of a surge in imports growth. Imports expanded a multi-year high of 49.1% over the same month last year (March: +45.3% year-on-year), and totaled USD 39.9 billion. The increase was due partly to rising prices for oil imports. Meanwhile, exports growth moderated but remained strong, coming in at 19.8% (March: +27.6% yoy). Robust demand was seen from Japan and the U.S. and helped boost India’s shipments abroad to total USD 24.6 billion.

The rolling 12-month trade deficit widened from USD 105 billion in March to USD 114 billion in April.

Operating conditions in India’s manufacturing sector were less upbeat in January from the previous month, with evidence suggesting that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) remains a risk to business performance as firms face delayed payments.